2024 Division Outlook: AL West

Houston Astros

Key Additions
- LHP Josh Hader
- C Victor Caratini

Key Loses
- C Martin Maldonado
- RHP Hector Neris
- RHP Ryne Stanek
- RHP Kendall Graveman
- OF Michael Brantley
- RHP Phil Maton

The Houston Astros are the powerhouse of the American League in recent history, having made the American League Championship Series in each of the last 7 (!!) seasons, winning the World Series twice in that time frame. Despite losing numerous players in trades or free agency, the Astros have sustained their success through smart free agent signings and consistently strong player development. Their biggest departure may be the retirement of Dusty Baker, as the Astros hired from within and promoted bench coach Joe Espada to be the new head man. Heading into the 2024 season, their lineup is once again led b off with Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker, one of the best lineup cores in the league. Jose Abreu, their premiere free agent signing from a year ago, will be looking to put the worst season of his career behind him. He finished 2023 with a -0.6 fWAR and 86 wRC+, both career low marks for the slugger. The Astros have great depth behind him anyways, with two breakout candidates in Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz following Abreu in the lineup. Barring any injuries, I am expecting this lineup to do some great things once again, especially after finishing 2023 fifth in the major leagues in team OPS and in the top seven in expected stats, including xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA.

On the pitching side of things, it looks like the Astros pitching staff will head into 2024 a bit banged up. Justin Verlander, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., and J.P. France are all expected to start the season on the IL, leaving Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier as the top guns on the Astros rotation. Given those injuries, the Astros will begin the season relying on Hunter Brown, Jose Urquidy, and Ronel Blanco to round up their rotation. Brown had a lackluster first full season in the big leagues, although his numbers credit him as someone who ended up being pretty unlucky. This years Astros' premiere free agent signing comes out of their bullpen, as the Astros brought in the best left handed reliever in baseball. Josh Hader signed a 5 year, $95 million deal with the Astros, joining Ryan Pressly in possibly the best closing tandem in the big leagues. Overall, the Houston Astros should find themselves fighting for the AL West crown once again and be a threat in the AL postseason bracket.

Team MVP: Yordan Alvarez

Team Cy Young: Framber Valdez

Team X-Factor: Jose Abreu

The Nationals will host the Houston Astros for a three game series from April 19-21.

Los Angeles Angels

Key Additions
- OF Aaron Hicks
- LHP Matt Moore
- RHP Robert Stephenson

Key Loses
- RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani
- INF David Fletcher
- C Max Stassi

To be blunt, the Angels are not going to be very good this season. Looking at their depth chart, I would not be surprised if they had the most drastic decrease in wins from last season to this year, leaving first year Angels manager Ron Washington with a tall task. They obviously lost the best player in the game in Shohei Ohtani, while getting nothing in return. The pitching and injuries that always plague them could very well haunt them again. Their best two hitters, in Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, played in a combined 125 games last season. As painful as it is to watch, the gradual decline of Mike Trout is upon us, as injuries catch up to him and production slightly declines each year. Rendon has seemingly found himself in some sort of controversy every year since his departure from D.C., with him most recently citing that baseball is "not a top priority."

Taylor Ward and Brandon Drury make strong offensive contributions when on the field, stabilizing the Los Angeles lineup, but they can't do everything on their own. Mickey Moniak has seemingly found himself a home in Anaheim, with quick prospect risers Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto hoping to join him.

On the pitching side of things, there is a lot to be desired on the Los Angeles staff. The Angels' projected 'ace' heading into 2024 is Reid Detmers, who has shown strong flashes and is only 24 years of age. Patrick Sandoval fits under the same umbrella as Detmers, as Sandoval is a 27 year southpaw having shown his own potential as a major league arm. Griffing Canning, Tyler Anderson, and Chase Silseth wrap up their rotation, but none of those names are flashy arms in the major league scene. As mentioned earlier, I don't see the Angels being all too competitive this year. If Trout and Rendon miraculously remain healthy the entire year, then maybe their lineup can carry them into being a fringe playoff team, but history speaks for itself.

Team MVP: Mike Trout

Team Cy Young: Reid Detmers

Team X-Factor: Patrick Sandoval

The Nationals play host to the Los Angeles Angels for a three game set from August 9-11.

Oakland Athletics

Key Additions
- RHP Ross Stripling
- RHP Trevor Gott
- INF Abraham Toro
- LHP Alex Wood
- OF Miguel Andujar
- INF JD Davis

Key Loses
- 2B Tony Kemp
- RHP Trevor May
- RHP James Kaprielian

Ah, the fan favorite Oakland Athletics, or soon to be Las Vegas Athletics. John Fisher's team looks to be heading into another season where they'll be doomed to finish last in the AL West and in the bottom third of Major League Baseball. The bright spots on this roster are few and far between, with the main offensive highlights being Zack Gelof and Brent Rooker. Gelof got his first taste of the major leagues in 2023, and did nothing but produce, accumulating 2.9 fWAR in only 69 games, nice. Ryan Noda, Esteury Ruiz and Shea Langeliers each had their faire share of highlights in their first full year together, but still have a lot to improve upon if they want to remain big leaguers. Overall, the Athletics lineup is just bland, with a few players to keep an eye on.

If you thought the A's lineup was lackluster, don't even bother taking a look at the pitching staff. JP Sears and former All Star Paul Blackburn will lead their staff, with veterans Alex Wood and Ross Stripling following. The 5th spot is up in the air still, due to the fact that the A's announced flamethrower Mason Miller will be moving to the bullpen. I haven't said a whole lot about this rotation, and I still already don't have much else to say. They finished with the second worst team ERA in 2023 with a mark of 5.48, only beating out the Colorado Rockies.

The Athletics will not be a threat in the American League, and that's to no ones's surprise. With only a handful of young players to keep an eye on, the team might be most looking forward to their move to Las Vegas.

Team MVP: Zack Gelof

Team Cy Young: Mason Miller (Yes, even out of the pen)

Team X-Factor: Esteury Ruiz (does it really matter for the A's)

The Nationals will head out to play Oakland for a three game series from April 12-14.

Seattle Mariners

Key Additions
- DH/C Mitch Garver
- OF Mitch Haniger
- OF Luke Raley
- 2B Jorge Polanco
- 3B Luis Urias

Key Loses
- RF Teoscar Hernandez
- OF Jarred Kelenic
- 3B Eugenio Suarez
- LHP Robbie Ray
- LHP Marco Gonzales
- C Tom Murphy

After finally ending the infamous 21 year playoff drought in 2022, the Seattle Mariners were left out of October baseball in 2023. Following a small roster shakeup this offseason, Seattle will look to bounce back and return to the playoffs in 2024. Jerry Dipoto continued his notorious history of making a flurry of trades and initially odd offseason moves in an effort to steer the Mariners in a more stable direction for the 2024 season. The Mariners offensive star power starts with none other than their 23 year old star outfielder and MVP candidate - Julio Rodriguez. Offseason acquisitions Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco add more consistent sources of power to go along with recent breakouts Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford. The health of this core, especially Garver and Polanco, along with the potential bounce backs of Mitch Haniger and Ty France, are going to be what makes or breaks this lineup.

I really do believe the offense will be what either pushes Seattle to a playoff appearance or hinders them and holds them back, as their pitching look to be one of the best in the sport. In 2023, the Mariners pitching staff finished with a combined 20.1 fWAR, good enough for third in the majors. Luis Castillo returns to be the team's ace once again, with Logan Gilbert and George Kirby following as aces of their own. Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo were introduced to the majors in 2023, flashing their strengths and capabilities to become aces of their own. The Mariner's rotation looks to be so good that they traded away the 2021 Cy Young Award in Robbie Ray for Mitch Haniger. To be fair, Ray isn't slated to return until after the All Star break, but a former Cy Young Award winner is still a former Cy Young Award winner nevertheless. Seattle's bullpen already featured a premier closer in Andres Muñoz, a premier setup man in Matt Brash, and then went ahead and traded for 2023 breakout star Gregory Santos from the White Sox. The more I look at their projected roster, the more I believe in this team to be a serious contender, but that potential lies extra heavily on a healthy season from their contributors.

Team MVP: Julio Rodriguez

Team Cy Young: Luis Castillo

Team X-Factor: Jorge Polanco

The Nationals will host the Seattle Mariners for a three game set from May 24-26.

Texas Rangers

Key Additions
- RHP David Robertson
- RHP Kirby Yates
- RHP Tyler Mahle

Key Loses
- DH/C Mitch Garver
- LHP Aroldis Chapman
- LHP Will Smith
- LHP Jordan Montgomery

The reigning World Series champs will head into 2024 looking to defend their 2023 title, a job that hasn't been completed since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. A couple big losses to their roster, both from injuries and free agency, may hinder their chances, but Bruce Bochy has proven yet again to never count his squad out.

The Rangers lineup will look to repeat as one of the strongest's offenses in the American League, as they finished with the best OPS in the AL. Texas might kick off 2024 without one of the best hitters in the world in Corey Seager, as there is a chance he begins the season on the shelf with a sports hernia. Seager posted an absurd 1.013 OPS and 169 wRC+ in his 119 games last year, cementing himself as one of the best left handed hitters. Fellow free agent class acquisition Marcus Semien will join Seager at the top of the lineup, creating a formidable 1-2 duo. Adolis Garcia, Nathaniel Lowe, and Jonah Heim all add to the elite Texas offensive core. Something that makes this Texas lineup even more special is the contributions they get beyond the veterans, as young studs Josh Jung, Evan Carter, and Wyatt Langford all look to also be major contributors for the near future.

The Rangers offense might take some time to get going, with Seager and Lowe dealing with injuries, and the young guys might needing some time to get fully adjusted to the big league scene. There seems to be more question marks on the pitching side, as Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle will all open the season on the injured list. That leaves Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning doing the heavy lifting to start the season. It's almost like they could use a pitcher like Jordan Montgomery, crazy. Regardless, the Rangers are built on depth, something they have plenty of. The already present injuries, and any future ones, will be what truly limits this Texas squad from fighting the Astros for the AL West crown.

Team MVP: Corey Seager

Team Cy Young: Nathan Eovaldi

Team X-Factor: Jacob deGrom

The Nationals will visit the reigning World Series champs for a three game series from April 30-May 2.

The recently competitive AL West looks to remain that way in 2024, however it will most likely be rather top heavy. The top 3 squads in Houston, Texas, and Seattle will all fight for the sought after AL West crown, while Los Angeles and Oakland do their thing. Even with the bottom two being in the division, the top three alone will make the AL West a must watch division in the 2024 season.

1. Texas Rangers (101-61)
2. Houston Astros (99-63)
3. Seattle Mariners (90-72)
4. Los Angeles Angels (74-88)
5. Oakland Athletics (61-101)